Horrible Histories | Horrible Histories Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Former cover of Two in One book The Angry Aztecs and The Incredible Incas Horrible Histories Two in One Current cover of Two in One book Angry Aztecs and Incredible Incas There are also the 'Two Horrible Books in One' versions The Frightful First World War and The Woeful Second World War The Groovy Greeks and the Rotten Romans Gorgeous Georgians and Vile Victorians Smashing Saxons and Stormin' Normans The Terrible Tudors and The Slimy Stuarts Vicious Vikings and Measly Middle Ages The Barmy British Empire and The Blitzed Brits Angry Aztecs and Incredible Incas Horribly Huge Book of Awful Egyptians and Ruthless Romans There has also been a book package released entitled the Blood Curdling Box Set.

It includes the books: Savage Stone Age, Awesome Egyptians, Groovy Greeks, Rotten Romans, Cut-Throat Celts, Smashing Saxons, Vicious Vikings, Stormin Normans, Angry Aztecs, Incredible Incas, Measly Middle Ages, Slimy Stuarts, Terrible Tudors, Gorgeous Georgians, Vile Victorians, Villainous Victorians, Barmy British Empire, Frightful First World War, Woeful Second World War, Blitzed Brits. [7 ] Grisly Quiz Book and Gruesome Games Pack Gory Stories A new fiction-type of Horrible Histories series has recently sprouted, called Gory Stories.

The first set of books to be published in July 2008 were: Gory Stories - Tower of Terror (Terrible Tudors ) Gory Stories - Tomb of Treasure (Awful Egyptians ) Gory Stories - Wall of Woe - (Rotten Romans ) Gory Stories - Shadow of the Gallows (Vile Victorians ) Gory Stories - Raiders and Ruins ( Vikings ) - March 2009 Gory Stories - Blackout in the Blitz ( World War II ) - May 2009 Gory Stories - The Plague of Pain (aka Plague and Peril) ( Middle Ages ) - 2009 Gory Stories - The Trail of Treasure (aka Pirates and Plunder) ( Pirates ) - 2009 Big Book of Gory Stories (Pack of Tomb of Treasure, Wall of Woe and Tower of Terror) Blackout in the Blitz is listed on Terry Deary's website as Bombs on Britain, [1 ] but on Amazon.co.uk it is listed as Blackout in the Blitz, along with a cover. [2 ] High-speed History Beginning in 2010, a new sub-series called "High-speed History" was published.

These books are written by Terry Deary and illustrated by Dave Smith. The books in the sub-series are: Egypt - A High-Speed History - 3 May 2010 Tudors - A High-Speed History - 2 Aug 2010 Knights - A High-Speed History - 3 Mar 2011 Rome - A High-Speed History - July 2011 Others Edit Terry Deary's background is "very much in theatre". He studied at a drama college and worked as an actor-teacher at the TIE company in Wales. He then became a theatre director and began to write plays for children. Many of his TIE plays were eventually rewritten and adapted into the Horrible Histories book series. [4 ] The fifth book in the series was Blitzed Brits. This book was published in 1995, and by chance the date of publication coincided with the 50th anniversary of VE day, which is cited at being responsible for the book reaching no. 1 on the bestseller list. A couple of years later, Deary decided that the book only gave the British viewpoint during World War II, and recognised that this was a bias way of writing such a book.

Therefore, Deary wrote Woeful Second World War, because he thought he owed it to his fans to give them an accurate and unbiased account of the war, by writing about it from the European viewpoint as a whole. As the British viewpoint had already been extensively described in the previous book, and as "publishers don't like you covering the same information in new books", this new book focused on the roles of France, Poland, Germany and Russia during the war. The book was published in September 1999, which coincided with the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II [4 ] Deary eventually returned to the stage. Mad Millennium was commissioned by director Phillip Clark, who was a fellow TIE participant 25 years before. He said "your [Horrible Histories] books are very successful. Can we turn them into a large-scale theatre production?” Deary was happy to return to writing plays.

[4 ] Philosophy Edit Terry Deary gave the following testimony to The Guardian in 2003: "Everything I leant [at school] after 11 was a waste of time...it was boring, badly taoguth and not related to the real world...schools are nothing but a Victorian idea to get people off the street..who decided that that putting 30 kids with only their age in common in a classroom wiht one teacher was the best way of educating?" This outlook on the education system served as the inspiration for the Horrible Histories series, as a possible alternative. [5 ] Deary has also said in an interview, "If I had it my way, I wouldn't have schools at all. They don't educate, they just keep kids off the streets. But my books educate, because they prepare kids for life." [6 ] Deary has said, "It's outrageous - why don't we start telling children the truth about history? I hope my books do just that." [6 ] According to Consuming history: historians and heritage in contemporary popular culture by Jerome De Groot, Horrible Histories books are designed to engage and enthuse the reader about a subject while appearing subversive.

QAccording to him, the books are primarily entertainment with educative purpose. [2 ] Groot also suggests that Horrible Histories has a sceptical view on the accuracy and validity of history. In an introduction to one of the books in series, it states [2 ] “ History can be horrible. Horribly hard to learn. The trouble is it keeps on changing ... In history a 'fact' is sometimes not a fact at all. Really it's just someone's 'opinion'. And opinions can be different for different people ... Teachers will try to tell you there are 'right' and 'wrong' answers even if here aren't. ” Deary has many research methods when he is writing his books. He uses researchers for all Horrible Histories books, and sometimes uses researchers in specialised fields, such as a military historian for The Woeful Second War. Deary always "read[s] the most up-to-date books on the period [he's] writing about", although he also uses the internet more and more as time goes by. He also "completely absorb[s] [him]self into a period so [he]'ll know the whole historical context as well as all the events of that time".

In cases when he "end[s] up with far more information than [he] need[s]", he tends to exclude all the "boring facts" such as dates because according to Deary himself, "dates don't matter. Human experience matters". [4 ] Deary does not want his books to come over as preachy, saying "I'm an adult, I know this and I'm going to tell you". Instead, in his opinion the author's voice is an ignorant person exclaiming "you'll never believe what I found out when I read this book". He thinks that this series is essentially about discovering the wonders of human nature, and questioning whether we could possibly behave how those before us behaved. [4 ] Deary does not consider himself "an academic...a teacher...[or] even an adult". Instead, he views himself as kid who wants to share facts with other kids. He thinks that the writer of a non-fiction series such as Horrible Histories has to "entertain first and inform second". Deary does not respect authors who follow each extreme. He believes that "readers are more important than writers and their needs have to come first".

He believes that if you engage the reader, and if they are entertained by the substance, they will retain more knowledge from the work. [4 ] Deary uses many generic conventions of literature to make his books more accessible to his readers. He will deliberately write his books in a prose style so they follow natural speech cadences, and are therefore more natural to speak. He also uses alliteration and assonance quite frequently. Deary considered poetry to be "just another weapon in the writer's armoury" rather than a specialised form of prose that may only be used in specific circumstances, and is "very comfortable with [using] it" in his non-fiction works. Deary thinks that the impersonal language used in textbooks alienates the reader, and feels that this is a huge drawback in engaging the reader in the work. He therefore uses the second person to talk directly to the reader, the grammatical person he would use if he were talking to the reader in real life. He views Horrible Histories as one of the few non-fiction or fiction series which utilise this "underused style of writing". [4 ] “ How did people really behave in the Second World War? And how would you have behaved?

” Deary uses the medium of a newspaper to make serious material more accessible to the reader so they approach the piece in "a more relaxed frame of mind than they would a school text", for example in an article about the Massacre at Lidice. Newspapers can also be used to illustrate "mysterious and quite lighthearted" stories, such as those which might appear in a "Sun newspaper". In these circumstances, this medium is used as its subject matter is reminiscent of the other, more recognisable medium. Newspapers extracts, along with letters and diaries are used to tell stories from the perspectives of individual people, to engage the reader into the story. he "[tries] to get away from the objective, and to get [his] readers to view history subjectively". [4 ] When writing about events and historical periods that are still in living memory, such as the Second World War, a degree of "sensitivity [needs to be] involved".

While the story about an executioner that requires ten hacks to chop someone's head off in Even More Terrible Tudors is comical as contemporary society is so far removed from the event, relatively recent events are controversial to write about as readers may personally know people who died in the war, or may not want to discuss the Holocaust with their children. However, Deary believes that it is important for children to know about these events, and that they cannot be deemed taboo and never spoken of. [4 ] The majority of the demographic of Horrible Histories readers are "reluctant readers", who like Deary's series as they can "pick one up, read a small section, and then put it down again". Deary attributes this to the use of short chapters, the fact that one may read the book in a non-linear order, and the varying uses of media in each book, such as quizzes and comic strips.

[4 ] Nikki Gamble writes in her book ICT and literacy that two Year 5 twins appreciated the book's non-linear structure as "you don't have to read [the books] from beginning to end..one of us can, um, read the first chapter and the other one can be reading the last bit...it doesn't really matter about the order, does it?" “ With Horrible Histories I want children to think about how people in certain moments of history felt and also for them to consider what these people were experiencing...in Horrible Histories I'm asking, 'Why do people do what they do?' And, ultimately, 'Why do I behave the way I do?' ” The information in the books is presented in an informal way, and the tone of the books is conversational. [2 ] “ you would be disgusted by [Ivan the Terrible's] life story. So I won't tell you. What? You still want to read it? Oh, very well. I'll tell you the story but I'll leave out the gruesome bits. Book makeover Edit On 7 May 2007, the original series of the Horrible Histories books began to be republished with a new look and new content.

The new books have altered information on the back cover, an index and a brighter, redesigned front cover. Magazines Edit The book series has been generally well received. Some reviews from CaptainD [1 ] gives positive feedback towards the books. A review by Tammy McQuoid at [2 ] states that "While the book is quite irreverent at times, it does have plenty of historical information in it." citing an example as "the fact that they say the Normans brought the feudal system to England and that Henry II of England said that he wished he could be rid of Thomas a Becket.

And then some of Henry's knights took it upon themselves to kill Thomas a Becket, an archbishop." She however does state some positive remarks including "There's plenty more of good, factual history included...I think it's a good idea to mix up unit studies a bit with some educational fun and games." Carole Green of the BBC did a review on the Terrible Tudors play at the Grand Opera House, 2006 [3 ].She gave a very positive review stating "It was a wonderful evening, very funny and educational without realising it." The Guardian gave a review about the series as a whole [4 ], also stating comments from a variety of distinguished people. Angela Marks, the history co-ordinator and teacher at St Luke's Church of England Primary School said that the books "...are very cleverly done...children feel that they shouldn't be reading them, that there is something slightly naughty about them. That immediately engages them." Julian Pooley, an archivist said "I wish there had been books like this around when I was at school, when history was all facts and no life.

I made do with Ladybird guides." yummy87 at [5 ] stated that the series "...is interesting, and is written in such an amusing way, that it will keep children and adults enthralled for hours. I believe that the magazine represents wonderful value for money, as the magazines will be used continually." Joseph Allen McCullough Of Suite101 offered a review on the city-themed book Oxford: Not only is this new little book a great read for anyone (child or adult) with a passing interest in history, it is also a necessary book for any tourist to the city of Dreaming Spires. Any tourist guide will likely tell you who got killed where in Oxford, but Deary's book will do the same thing and entertain you at the same time." ( m/article.cfm/horrible_histories_oxford_review) However, the series causes trouble in some parts of the world. Awards Best Book with Facts in the Blue Peter Book Awards 2000 Best Book for Knowledge Award at the Blue Peter Book Awards 2001 Terry Deary tops the list of most-borrowed non-fiction children’s authors every year.

(Figures based on the Library Survey) Terry Deary was voted the fifth most popular living children’s author in a 2005 Guardian survey. Narins [16 ] Winner of British Comedy Awards 2011(TV series) Controversy Edit The book Bloody Scotland drew the ire of the tiny Scottish Separatist Group , who claimed it promoted a "UK centric, anti-Scottish viewpoint of Scottish history", using comments like "Cook the haggis until it looks like a hedgehog after the fifteenth lorry has run over it". They reported the book to the Commission for Racial Equality , who rejected their claim. [4 ] The National Trust was unhappy with Cruel Kings and Mean Queens because it made jokes about Prince Charles 's ears (the prince is the trust's patron) and Queen Elizabeth II. [4 ] [5 ] The book "Slimy Stuarts" has been accused of Anti-Catholic views.

According to Terry Deary's homepage, "Several of the books have been banned in some places." [4 ] In the Horrible Histories series, there are two books titled The Horrible History of the World and The Wicked History of the World; however, they are the same book, only with different headings. To confuse things further, compact and mini editions are planned for release at the end of 2007. The same incident occurred with The Horribly Huge Quiz Book and Massive Millennium Quiz Book, and The Mad Millennium and Mad Millennium Play. Also, there are two different covers for Horrible Christmas, as well as new paperback, compact and mini editions soon to be published.

In an article called "Scholastic's Horrible Histories Book Series: Promoting Hate", posted on October 10, 2006 on Literanista , [6 ] a comment was made on the use of violent imagery in the book Angry Aztecs: "Now I understand trying to promote reading through the use of gross graphics and cartoonish depictions in an attempt to engage kids, but honestly do Latinos and other foreign groups really need children having these depictions encrypted into their little heads at school." A user named Anonymous rebutted this comment by stating the book/s historical accuracy, and hence the images being justified: "The Aztecs DID engage in human sacrifice in the manner depicted on the front cover of The Angry Aztecs. There is nothing inaccurate there. If you read the book you will see it covers other aspects of Aztec culture, not just the brutal parts, although the Horrible Histories series does tend to focus on the sensational." Other languages Terry Deary - Scholastic Kids' Club Terry Deary TERRY DEARY Terry Deary was born in Sunderland in 1946 and currently lives in County Durham. Terry is a former actor, theatre-director and Drama teacher.

He spends his time writing and directing for his television production company, managing his website, terry-deary.com, and touring his Horrible Histories exhibition. Terry is the author of 116 books in the UK and over 250 more worldwide, mainly for children and teenagers, including the popular non-fiction series Horrible Histories. Horrible Histories were launched in 1993 and are now sold in 28 languages from Russia to Brazil, Scandinavia to China. In 2003, Horrible Histories celebrates its 10th Anniversary! In 1996 Terry was the best selling British children’s author with 5 of his books in the top ten best-sellers of the year (Waterstones Book Shop tables). In August 1997 he was still leading the way with thirteen titles in the top forty. (Bookseller listings). In 1999, The Daily Telegraph recorded that he outsold Enid Blyton by four to one and a Libraries survey made him the most-borrowed author of non-fiction in Britain – adult and children’s books.

Terry currently holds 8 out of the 10 slots for ‘Most Borrowed Children’s Non-Fiction’ authors in the Public Lending Rights annual survey covering July 1998-June 1999. In November 1999 Books for Keeps magazine readers voted him “The outstanding children’s non-fiction author of the 20th Century”. Terry’s district council have awarded Terry an “oscar” as one of their top citizens and Sunderland University have awarded Terry an Honorary Doctorate in Education (HonDEd) which was awarded in July 2000. In early 1998, the Top Ten series was launched with two titles written by Terry, Top Ten Shakespeare Stories and Top Ten Greek Legends. Terry’s latest additions to the Horrible Histories series are the Horrible Histories Special: France and Cruel Crimes and Painful Punishment. And if Horrible Histories wasn’t keeping him busy enough Terry has also contributed a range of titles to the True Stories series including True Mystery Stories and True Horror Stories. The Horrible Histories exhibition is up and running in museums around Britain until 2003.

He has also just set up a television production company and is negotiating to make a series of audio tapes and writing radio scripts for BBC World Service. “If you haven’t come across ‘Horrible Histories’ before you’ve missed a true publishing phenomenon – Terry Deary seems to have invented a whole new genre with his series of books looking at history in an entirely different way.” Books Magazine, July 96 “I do not like reading very much and my Mum is pleased that I have found some books I like so much that I read them without being asked!” Fan letter from 10-year-old boy For more information why not visit or join his fan club? More top authors and illustrators 10 Best Greek Legends Ever! 10 Best Shakespeare Stories Ever!

2010 Barmy British Empire (Classic Edition) Beastly Best Bits Dark Knights and Dingy Castles Sticker-Activity Book Deadly Days in History Frightful First World War (Classic Edition) Frightfully Funny Quiz Book Horrible Histories: The Vicious Vikings Horrible History of Britain and Ireland Horribly Hilarious Joke Book Measly Middle Ages (Classic Edition) Measly Middle Ages (New Edition) Pirates Savage Stone Age (Classic Edition) Shadow of the Gallows Terry Deary's Best Ever Greek Legends Terry Deary's Best Ever Shakespeare Tales Terry Deary's Terribly True Crime Stories The Angry Aztecs The Big Fat Father Christmas Joke Book The Blitzed Brits The Frightful First World War The Groovy Greeks The Horrible History of Britain and Ireland The Horrible History of the World The Horrible Pack of Mega Mayhem The Incredible Incas The Woeful Second World War This is a Horrible Journal Tomb of Treasure Top 50 Kings and Queens Top 50 Villains Horrible Histories series by Terry Deary Horrible Histories series 42 works, 42 primary works Horrible Histories is a series of illustrated history books published in the United Kingdom by Schol

astic.

They are designed to get children interested in history by concentrating on the unusual, gory, or unpleasant. The series has proved exceptionally successful in commercial terms. The books are written by Terry Deary, Peter Hepplewhite and Neil Tonge and illustrated by Martin Brown, Mike Phillips and Philip Reeve. Horrible Histories: Awful Egyptians - Scholastic Kids' Club Look inside Horrible Histories: Awful Egyptians Fatter. Funnier. And with bigger pics. A new chunky edition: the same historical splattering of laughter, blood and gore. Potty pyramids. Groovy gods. Terrifying tombs. It’s a history book to make you cry for your mummy! A yuckier look at what it was really like to live in Ancient Egypt. (Did you know they worshipped dung beetles who crawled around in poo?) Learn the truth about cool queen Cleo. Discover the freaky curse of King Tut. And find out what job the lucky ‘Shepherd of the Royal Backside’ had to do.

#horriblehistories-shopall "Horrible Histories" Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb trailers and videos full cast and crew trivia official sites memorable quotes Overview 28 out of 30 people found the following review useful: A Worthy Companion To The Best-selling Series of Eduactional Books. from Japatchygolialand 12 July 2010 Horrible Histories teaches children about the Vile Victorians, Awesome Egyptians, Terrible Tudors and much more while delivering the information with jokes, word play and having a cross between normal, modern Britain and the age it is focusing on to make it more enjoyable to learn than sitting in a dull, claustrophobic classroom looking around at children messing and teachers longing for the day of back-breaking punishment to be over. I'm no teacher,I'm an eleven year old, but I still think that this TV program sticks out from mind numbing things like Most Haunted and anything on Living. It is infinitely better than being forced to watch Fox News, and children from 8 to 12 will sit down and watch this. They don't see it as schoolwork, they see it as a quite funny way to spend 27 minutes.

Instead of being sat inside a dark room drooling at a computer screen, pick up Season 1 on DVD and have a right good laugh. Maybe you could even interest your kids in the series of books by Terry Deary. There are books, cartoons, audio CDs and now a live action television program to add to the Horrible Histories franchise. 9 out of 10. Also, huge thanks to everyone who rated this useful! Was the above review useful to you? 16 out of 16 people found the following review useful: One of the best children's TV programmes ever written! from United Kingdom 9 September 2010 'Horrible Histories' is a show comprising sketches and songs based around a range of different historical periods such as Measly Middle Ages, Slimy Stuarts, Terrible Tudors and Savage Stone Age, often focusing on British history but also covering the history of other nations and peoples such as Groovy Greeks, Rotten Romans and Incredible Incas. The show is based on the hugely popular books by Terry Deary (who plays the occasional cameo!) and features animations by Martin Brown. The whole show from start to finish is just hilarious.

I became addicted earlier this year watching repeats of the first series, and was overjoyed when the second series was aired a few months later. The sketches are incredibly clever - many of them are take-offs of popular shows such as Wife Swap, Ready Steady Cook and This Is Your Life. There's even a catchy, cleverly-written song in each episode which you'll find yourself humming about the house for days afterwards! It's great that the episodes are so funny but also of course it gets kids (and adults!) learning more about history which is no bad thing! And even though it is primarily aimed at children, it's obvious it's meant to entertain the grown-ups just as much! I think there's so many children's series that have come out over the years which are peddled as 'comdedy' for children but they just end up patronising them with 'gags' that they can see coming a mile off and are rarely funny at all - 'HH' credits its young viewers with a lot more intelligence I think. But I must mention that even though the writing, structure and general concept of the show are inspired, what really makes the show what it is is its fantastic cast, many of whom contribute to the writing.

Mathew Baynton, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Ben Willbond, Laurence Rickard and Sarah Hadland (as well as a whole host of others) are all brilliant in their countless roles - they seem to put a lot of thought into maximising the hilarity of each sketch and basically just do their job really well! My favourite moments are too many to list although I particularly like the medieval paramedics, the Will Somers sketch, Mathew Baynton's parody of a certain TV fashion makeover guru and the Franciso Pizzaro Rough Guide. I also love the Boudica, Charles II, four King Georges and Spartan High School Musical songs (the last just seems to get funnier with each viewing!). Just catch the repeats on CBBC or buy the DVD if you've yet to see it - if you have kids they'll love it, and even if you don't, you should like it anyway! Was the above review useful to you?

9 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Laugh your way through history 29 July 2010 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Every once in a while I catch my sister watching this, I sit down to watch with her and it's always interesting! You learn a lot of useless, gruesome, interesting and comical details (some useful ones too) about what people did in the past. They also like to depict what happened in a modern day context, like Cleopatra asking Caesar to assassinate her enemies via instant messaging and a Roman "come dine with me", where the emperor Elagabalus gives the guests plastic food whilst he eats the real stuff. I especially enjoy listening to the songs they come up with, my favourite being the one about Vikings. Genius from Vicious Vikingland 16 August 2010 Blood, guts and excrement. Words to make you sick, I meant. Show this to your children and rejoice, toilet calls - there is no choice! Sorry, didn't rime properly. Bad viking me. Amazing show. I cannot believe how they market this as a children's show.

The humor is quite pythonesque and the pop-culture references are pretty subtle (for a child to understand). On the minus side there are some historical inaccuracies. E.g. Caligula wasn't murdered by his niece. And there are some more, but who cares. It's fun. There really are some gruesome moments.. mostly involving feces. Amazing educational show, you silly Brits! Was the above review useful to you? 6 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Hail Horrible Histories!!! 14 July 2012 *** This review may contain spoilers *** I rarely watch TV. Well can you blame me? Full of sad people all with the same desperation to be on TV via reality shows, ever since Big Brother, TV has seriously gone down hill. But this amazing programme, changes it all. I first took interest in Horrible Histories when it was just a minor book series, i bought it in my first year of high school, i only had two books, but they were seriously entertaining, and believe it or not at the age of 25 i still have them! i was flipping through the channels a year ago when i was bored and i saw Horrible Histories.

and oh my, its now an obsession. I didn't think a children's programme could ever make me laugh so so hard. The sketches are all insanely funny, and rather interesting too, i must admit after watching certain sketches i do find myself hopping onto the internet and doing a bit more research. The Actors & Actresses are all fantastic, i cannot find fault with any of them. My favourites have to be Simon Farnaby, Jim Howick & Lawrence Lewin. You learn the most interesting things, how Hitler would be in such a Paddy if he was awoken from his sleep, How they identified who was guilty and who was innocent in the middle ages by eating a piece of cake! Diogenes would pee on you if you insulted him! Other sketches to consider are, The prisoner of War, life in the trenches. They Also mimic other TV shows and use it for some hilarious gags, for example Wife Swap, Hisorical Masterchef, Apprentice, Eastenders, Gok Wans Fashion Fix (minus the Gok Wan) Ready Steady Feast and many more.

I wouldn't spend a second of my time watching these shows if they were on TV, but i have watched the horrible histories versions again & again and still laugh as hard as i did when i first watched it. My favourite character has to be Caligula, and i wish there were more of him, he reminds me of Pontious Pilate in Monty Pythons Life of Brian, but a bit more crazier, he seriously reduces me to tears of laughter, him, his speech impediment & his mallet who he lovingly names Wackus Bonkus. There are so many other sketches, the accents are spot on and make me laugh too, and the way they give random Era's a different accent, who would think King Pepi of ancient Egypt had a southern American accent?? Well he didn't, but it made me laugh all too hard. This sketch show is the new Monty Python, and i hope one day The Monty Python Clan & The Horrible Historie Clan collaborate to make the ultimate sketch show. The newer series feature more songs, which are all rooted from popular cult classics, but the lyrics changed.

Although i do not watch these and try to avoid them (not my style!) i will admit they are a fantastic way to help children memorise crucial information. And the winner of Two Bafta Awards two years in a row, the show must be fantastically hilarious and amazing! You must watch it for it is truly amazing! Was the above review useful to you? 3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Horrible Histories!!!! from Australia 11 September 2015 I love this show so much! It's hilarious, it's not boring at all and a great way to learn history. I watch it with my mum and dad every night and they too enjoy it. I know all the words to most songs, and thanks to Horrible Histories, I know all the English kings and queens, things about Charles the 2nd etc. Some of the song film clips resonates well with an older audience, as they are copies of older songs. They creatively add riff offs of shows, such as 'Historical Masterchef', 'Historical Apprentice' and 'Historical Dentist.' If you haven't watched it, I would definitely give it a go as it is funny and entertaining.

As you watch the series you begin to get attached to some of the main characters, like we have, so it makes it more fun. 10/10 I love it so much. Was the above review useful to you? 3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: The Best Way To Learn History from Cheshire, England 19 June 2015 Horrible Histories is one of the best shows on children's television; with catchy songs and entertaining jokes, this show really is the best way to learn about history. When this show first aired I was starting high school and hated history, I couldn't remember anything and was getting bottom marks in every test. This show saved my grades, every episode meant that a large amount of information became lodged in my head. From Vikings to King Charles II to the Civil Rights Movement, this show covers a lot with coherence and clarity even being clever enough to make spoofs of popular shows and TV adverts ('we buy any monk.com!') that ring true to modern British culture. This should not, however, restrict its audience though since it is an easily accessible show that has something for everyone. Now what truly makes Horrible Histories special are the amazing covers of popular songs.

After six years I still find myself singing to 'Born To Rule' and 'My Name Is Charles'. The catchy lyrics will get stuck in your head faster than the Flash can run and will help you learn. The one downside is that you may get weird looks if you start to sing out loud to the songs in public (Trust me on this!). Everyday life has never been the same, but my friends and I have had great fun trying and failing to sing our favourite songs in tune. Overall this show is a must watch, especially if you like history or comedy. With an amazingly witty cast and crew this show will have you begging for more episodes (but, since this is a BBC show, you shouldn't hold your breath). Was the above review useful to you? 3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Best series ever Author: rikki-fruit140 2 September 2014 Its a very easy and interactive as well as funny way to "laugh your way through history". I definitely recommend this to everyone (children to adults). Great series!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish there would continue filming new series including Huns, china and other cultures which would be very interesting to watch and learn.

Awful Egyptians Vile Victorians Gorgeous Georgians Awesome USA Troublesome 20th Century Slimy Stuarts Incredible Incas Angry Aztecs Rotten Romans Groovy Greeks Potty Pioneers Putrid Pirates Ruthless Rulers Frightful WWI Woeful WWII Smashing Saxons Cut-Throat Celts Terrible Tudors Savage Stone Age Measly Middle Ages Barmy British Empire Stormin' Normans Blized Brits Villanious Victorians Vicious Vikings Rutless Romans P.S. As well as the books Was the above review useful to you? 2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Season 6 - New Cast a Dud :( 9 September 2015 *** This review may contain spoilers *** We're really not liking it. It doesn't have that flow. The old cast had a good rapport & worked so well together. This new cast is very wooden. It's like they're playing their role, but not living it. The old cast really looked like they were having FUN! I don't know why CBBC decided to do this. It's completely turned my family off the series. Perhaps it's the writing The episodes are just too disjointed to hold a child's attention.

Each episode is focused on something specific in history - Napoleon, the Magna Carta, Henry VII. It looks like it should flow, rather than the old method of skits of many different historical facts, but it doesn't. It's too dry and not jaunty enough. The cast just looks so uncomfortable and out of place. Very sad to see the series go like this. Up till now we have loved it. Horrible Histories RIP. Author: James 26 June 2015 I'm with the other reviewers here in being: a) adult and b) hugely admiring of the "Horrible Histories" concept in general, and the way these particular actors put it into effect, in particular. However, I am not sure if the other reviewers have fully cottoned on to the exquisite way in which the work can at times rise to being both funny and moving at the same time. Cases in point are the "We fighter pilots..." song (about the Battle of Britain), and now recently the Magna Carta song (produced in time for the 800th anniversary thereof). Both songs are attractive visually, catchy as musical creations, funny, informative and ... distinctly moving!

That's a nice and clever and unusual trick if you can pull it off, and these guys certainly can! Much-deserved congratulations to them, therefore. Their world-beating work fusing education with entertainment offers us yet another reason to be "proud to be British". Was the above review useful to you? Page 1 of 2: The Awesome Egyptians : Terry Deary : 9780439944038 The Awesome Egyptians By (author) Terry Deary , By (author) Peter Hepplewhite , Illustrated by Martin Brown Share US$5.00 US$9.47 You save US$4.47 Free delivery worldwide Add to basket Add to wishlist Description Step back to an awesomely ancient time with the Awesome Egyptians. Discover which king had the worst blackheads, why some kings had to wear false beards and why the peasants were revolting. History with the nasty bits left in! 2013 is HORRIBLE HISTORIES twentieth anniversary.

show more Product details 130 x 192 x 14mm | 117.94g Publication date The Horrible Histories Collection | Horrible Histories Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia The Horrible Histories Collection Share Issue 1 In late 2003 Terry Deary and Eaglemoss Publications released the Horrible Histories Magazine Collection and in 2005 some of the titles in the series were released as free audiobooks as part of a promotion with breakfast cereal . Originally planned to be 60, the series was continued with an additional 20.

Issues The Awesome Egyptians: Mummy Mania – ( Ancient Egyptian Mummies ) The Vile Victorians: Cruel Britannia – ( Victorian Britannia ) The Slimy Stuarts: Bombs & Broomsticks – ( Stuart and Guy Fawkes ) The Groovy Greeks: Hits 'n' Myths – ( Greek Mythology ) The Frightful First World War – (World War I) The Angry Aztecs – ( Aztecs ) The Bizarre Tsars – (Russian Tsars ) The Vicious Vikings – ( Vikings ) The Savage Stone Age – ( Stone Age ) Rotten Romans on the Rampage – (The end of the Roman Republic ) The Wicked Wild West – ( Wild West ) The Frightfully Fabulous French – ( France ) The Slimy Stuarts: Burning Boils – ( Stuart Diseases ) The Terrible Tudors: Bad Bess – ( Tudor and Elizabethan Queen Elizabeth the First ) The Extraordinary Explorers – ( Explorers ) The Trendy 20s & The Dirty 30s – ( Roaring Twenties in 1920s and Great Depression in 1930s) America & its Scurvy Settlers –

 (America in 1600s and American Indians ) The Incredible Incas – ( Incas ) The Groovy Greeks: Alexander the Not-So-Great – ( Greek Alexander the Great ) The Slimy Stuarts: Charlie's Gets the Chop – ( Stuart Charles I ) The Awful Ancients – ( Ancient Civilizations ) The Sizzling Spanish – ( Spanish ) Ruthless Richard & the Useless Yorks – (The Wars of the Roses ) The Blitzed Brits – (Britain's Blitz in the Second World War) Rowdy Revolutions: America – ( American Revolutionary War ) The Silly Chilly Cold War – ( Cold War ) The Cut-Throat Celts – ( Celts ) The Ingenious Italians – ( Italian Renaissance ) Nasty Knights & Crazy Crusaders – ( Knights and Crusaders ) The Gorgeous Georgians vs.

Nasty Napoleon – ( Napoleonic Wars ) The Slicing Samurai – (Japanese Samurai ) Rowdy Revolutions: Russia – ( Russian Communist Revolution ) The Jumbled Germans – (Germany) Revolting Rebellions: Europe – ( European Revolutions for Republic ) The Cheeky Chinesse – ( Chinese ) The Terrific Pacific – ( Pacific Islands ) The Irate Irish – (Ireland) The Awesome Aussies – ( Australian Colonists and Aborigines ) The Scary Scots: Woad Warriors – ( Scots and Picts ) Even More Vile Victorians – ( Victorian Era ) The Wild Welsh – ( Wales ) The Elegant Edwardians – ( Edwardian Era ) Potty Portugal – (Portugal) The Polar Brrrs – (The North and South Poles ) Awful England Again – (British Famous People) Rotten Round-Up – (The Largest, Biggest and the Best) Each issue came with small cards depicting historic people, places, events and customs as well as a collection of timelines. The first 60 issues came with timelines each showing an era of human history, while the later 20 had timelines showing the history of themes such as fashion, art and science.

There have also been three "special" magazines in the series. They are: S2. Cruel Crimes and Painful Punishments – ( Crimes and Punishments ) S3. Cruel Kings and Mean Queens – ( English Monarchs ) The collection will not be relaunched in the UK in September 2009 Due To Low Trial Sales. [1 ] Gallery Horribly good | Books | The Guardian Books Horribly good Since The Terrible Tudors was published in 1993, Terry Deary has become one of our most successful authors. Lyn Gardner celebrates the series that educates as it entertains Friday 9 May 2003 20.39 EDT First published on Friday 9 May 2003 20.39 EDT Share on Messenger Close Isabelle is almost eight and is obsessed with Harry Potter, Avril Lavigne and history. Potter posters vie for space on her walls with a Tudor timeline and pictures of Elizabeth I. She has surprisingly strong views on Tudor crime and punishment and Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.

She likes a day out at Chessington World of Adventures, but she would just as soon have a trip to Hever Castle, Hampton Court or the Tower of London. Isabelle is not alone among her peers, and her interest in the past has been fuelled by two things: a terrific, enthusiastic school history teacher, and a series of books which next month celebrates 10 years of making history horribly good fun. Scholastic's Horrible History series, written by Terry Deary, has done for children and primary school history what popular TV series such as those by David Starkey and Simon Schama have done for history for adults. Eight million copies of the Horrible Histories have been sold in the UK, and a library survey placed Deary at the top of a list of the most borrowed authors of non-fiction. Others have tried to emulate him - his own publisher has launched a similarly irreverent history series, Dead Famous, dealing with individual historical figures rather than their period - but it is Deary who holds the monopoly. Since the first two titles, The Terrible Tudors and The Awesome Egyptians, were published back in 1993, he has stuck to a formula - history "with the nasty bits left in".

The Horrible Histories are full of snot and sweat, bile and blood, puke and poison, as well as lots of appalling jokes, child-friendly cartoons and test yourself (and your teacher) quizzes. As Deary puts it in the introduction to every new book: "This book is about really horrible history. It is full of the sort of facts that teachers never bother to tell you. Not just the bits about the kings and queens and the battles and the endless lists of dates - it is also about the ordinary people. People like you and me." The Vile Victorians doesn't just tell you about Queen Victoria, but also about what it was like to work in a sweatshop or a factory. It tells you about Victorian government, but also about Victorian sewerage. Deary, of course, was not the first to think of trying to make history less dry.

Generations of British schoolchildren were bought up on 1066 and All That, while Eleanor and Herbert Farjeon's verses about kings and queens, first published in 1932, made the business of learning the succession much more entertaining with their tales of "John, John, bad King John / Shamed the throne that he sat on" or "Henry the Third was that poor freak / A king we speak about as weak." John Julius Norwich recalls his mother giving him a shilling for every Farjeon poem he learned by heart. The Farjeons may seem quaintly old-fashioned to us now - Noël Coward thought them wonderfully "witty and gay" - but Deary's mixture of funnies and facts is pretty much the same, although ruder: Blackadder for the under-12s would be a good description. When the Horrible Histories first started appearing there was resistance from some teachers and parents who, often without taking a good look at the books, decided that anything that used a comic-book style and was this much fun couldn't possibly be good for children.

It is a sign of how much the teaching of primary school history has changed over the past decade that, give or take the odd whipped-up controversy, such as the two academics who brought Bloody Scotland to the attention of the Scottish book-buying public by denouncing it as "cheap, sensationalist rubbish", it is now almost impossible to find anyone with a bad word to say about the Horrible Histories . "They are very cleverly done," says Angela Marks, the history co-ordinator and year three teacher at St Luke's Church of England Primary School, Kingston upon Thames. "Children feel that they shouldn't be reading them, that there is something slightly naughty about them. That immediately engages them. "These books are a wonderful catalyst. They make children want to know more, and for those children who are really fired by history they are an easily available way of finding out more about the things that interest them. They don't have to wait until that particular period is covered in class." Julian Pooley, an archivist, is similarly impressed. "I wish there had been books like this around when I was at school, when history was all facts and no life.

I made do with Ladybird guides." Pooley stresses that the Horrible Histories are based on a sound understanding of sources. "Deary isn't making this stuff up; he is using good source material. These books help kids to link the facts they are fed in the classroom with buildings, museums, places that you can visit and find out more. It makes them realise that history is about sources - and that can mean anything from state papers to the kinds of documents that tell us about people's everyday lives. These books include and make reference to sources that I use every day in my work." The series would, of course, have been shot down long ago if Deary didn't make certain that every book is factually correct. Pooley, though, is not impressed just by the factual accuracy, but also by the way the books put history in context. "A book such as Cruel Kings and Mean Queens puts our own monarchy in context, showing that the royal family is not just an institution you read about in Hello! magazine but the living embodiment of our history. People might say these books are part of the dumbing-down process, but they are really very learned in their way. Does it matter that they are full of lavatorial humour?

Not at all, that's what nine and 10-year-olds love. If they've read Dark Knights and Dingy Castles, then the next time they are dragged around a castle by their parents they will actually know what a garderobe is and be interested in it." Horrible Histories are a success well worth celebrating. But it is worth remembering that they have only happened because the introduction of the national curriculum provided the publishers with a ready-made mass market. History topics in primary schools used to be taught entirely at the fancy of teachers; now there are a range of set topics from Egyptians to the second world war, the Vikings to the Victorians, that teachers must choose to fit in with key stage two tests. Woe betide the primary-age child whose interest in history is so fuelled by the Horrible Histories that they want to find out about the history not included on the national curriculum. As I have already discovered at my local children's library, there is almost nothing about Lenin and Trotsky or the American civil war for the interested 10-year-old. If it is not on the national curriculum, publishers simply don't see a market for it.

Meanwhile, Isabelle is delighted to discover that there is another good reason for a trip to King's Cross station. Not only would she like to see the place that spawned the mythical platform nine and three quarters in Harry Potter, she has now also discovered from Cruel Queens and Mean Kings that the warrior queen Boudicca, who died in AD62 after failing to defeat the invading Romans, is buried somewhere under platform eight. As far as Isabelle is concerned, that's not just history, that's really fascinating. The Horrible Histories are published by Hippo at £3.99 each. Home - Horrible Histories Copyright © 2015 Horrible Histories® Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions Horrible Histories® is a registered trademark of Scholastic Inc. and is used under authorization. All rights reserved. Based on the bestselling books written by Terry Deary and illustrated by Martin Brown. Illustration copyright © Martin Brown Powered by Supadü

Question: Terrible Tudors and Awesome Egyptians are the first two titles in which series of illustrated books by Terry Deary?
Answer: Horrible Histories